Los Angeles Kings celebrate victory with parade Monday

LOS ANGELES >> Los Angeles will celebrate its 2014 Stanley Cup champion Kings on Monday with a downtown parade that ends in front of Staples Center, the team announced Saturday.

Fans crowding the streets surrounding the Kings’ home stadium on Figueroa Street exploded into a euphoric frenzy Friday night after L.A. defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 in double overtime to secure the coveted cup for the second time in three years.

The revelry continues Monday as the official team celebration steps off at noon, beginning at Figueroa and Fifth streets and heading south to Staples Center, Kings spokesman Jon Rosen said in a written statement.

Following the parade, the Kings will host a sold-out victory rally for season ticket holders inside Staples Center, according to Kings representatives. Attendees will be able to watch the parade via screens inside the arena.

The parade is expected to last 35 to 45 minutes, Rosen said.

“Kings fans planning to attend Monday’s victory parade are highly encouraged to line the one-mile Figueroa Street parade route between 5th Street to the north and Chick Hearn Court to the south, on both sides of the street, as all the immediate areas adjacent to Staples Center and L.A. Live will be controlled by the Los Angeles Police Department and Department of Transportation with limited access to an area of limited size,” Rosen said.

In addition to the parade route on Figueroa Street between 5th and 11th streets, Figueroa Street will also be closed between 3rd Street and Pico Boulevard, as well as 11th Street between Figueroa Street and L.A. Live Way, and L.A. Live Way between Olympic and Pico boulevards.

The parade and accompanying festivities will be televised live on FOX Sports West, with a broadcast beginning at 11 a.m., Kings officials said.

Restaurants at L.A. Live will remain open during the parade, however, access will be limited to the north entrance off Olympic Boulevard, officials said.

“The Kings also encourage all fans to remember to celebrate safely and responsibly, as the parade will be a family event, and small children will be present,” Rosen said. “Parents are reminded to keep their children close to prevent them from becoming separated from their groups. Attendees are also encouraged to drink water and use sunscreen, as many are likely to be standing along Figueroa for several hours and the forecast calls for sunny weather.”

“Let’s honor the great @LAKings win by celebrating responsibly! Win with Class, Celebrate with Class!” the chief tweeted.

Fans created an impromptu parade of their own as they left the area following Friday’s victory, waving flags and inflatable Stanley Cup figures and chanting “Go Kings, go,” and “We got the Cup.”

The enthusiastic crowd that gathered Friday at L.A. Live adjacent to Staples Center to watch the final game of the Stanley Cup championship remained largely peaceful. Strangers exchanged high-fives after the Kings clinched the championship. And even taunts between Kings fans and the few Rangers fans visible outside Staples Center remained light-hearted.

Police maintained a heavy presence throughout the game, which increased as it drew near a close. Officers on horseback made patrols through the area, and dozens of other officers stood by with riot helmets in case of trouble.

There were three arrests in all at the game, Los Angeles Police Officer Rosario Herrera said. Two were arrests for battery, and the third was for being drunk in public.

Home viewers were also excited about Friday’s game, as evidenced by preliminary TV ratings figures released Saturday by the NBC Sports Group.

With an average of 6 million viewers, Friday’s double-overtime playoff victory was the most-watched Game 5 in six years, NBC officials said in a written statement. Viewership peaked between 9 and 9:30 p.m., at more than 8.5 million viewers.

The ratings were up 7 percent over Game 5 last year between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins, which was also shown on NBC, and 82 percent over Game 5 in 2012, in which the Kings took on the New Jersey Devils in a game with potential to win the Stanley Cup.

The last time a Game 5 reached so many viewers was in 2008, when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings battled into triple overtime, according to the network.

NBC officials said they expected Friday’s game to be the top prime-time broadcast among the four major networks. The previous two championship series games shown on NBC, games 1 and 2, claimed the No. 1 prime-time rating.

In Los Angeles and New York, Friday’s game garnered the second-highest ratings of any NHL game shown on NBC or NBCSN, officials said.

With a Los Angeles rating of 12.4, Los Angeles viewership was bested only by the series-ending Game 6 in 2012, which saw a rating of 13.6, according to NBCSN.

In New York, Friday’s 10.4 rating was topped only by Game 2 of this series, which brought a slightly higher rating of 10.5.